Carlsbad police: Man abused wife with fists, teeth and keys

A Columbus, N.M., man who allegedly threatened to cut his wife's head off if she told police that he abused her was arrested Tuesday in Carlsbad.

Oscar Licano, 27, is in custody on suspicion of battery against a household member, intimidation of a witness and false imprisonment.

When Carlsbad police officers arrived at the scene of what had been reported as a family disturbance, they reportedly found a terrified Adriana Licano cowering in the corner of a house on South Mesa Street. Her husband, Oscar Licano, was reportedly yelling at her to leave with him and continued to do so even with officers present, according to the police report.

Corporal Andrew Swanson reportedly saw multiple bruises on Adriana Licano's face and arms and found deep bite marks on her hands and ankles. According to the police report, Adriana Licano also had a large bruise on her right eye and cheek. The bruise was reportedly blue and purple, indicating that it was a few days old. Swanson also reportedly observed two large lacerations on the woman's upper back.

According to the police report, Adriana Licano was not fluent in English, but she was able to make Swanson understand that the marks were from her husband. The two lacerations on her back, she said, were formed when Oscar Licano reportedly used a key to cut her. Adriana Licano told Swanson that she had been the victim of systematic physical abuse over the last several days, according to the report. She had not called police, she said, because Oscar Licano had threatened to cut her head off if she told anyone.

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When police took Adriana Licano to the police station for an interview, officers were able to hear her story through the help of a translator. When asked when Oscar Licano had told her that he would cut off her head if she called the police about the abuse, Adriana Licano reportedly said, "all the time." She also told police that she never felt like she could leave him, the police report stated. She was "too scared to leave."

According to the police report, the woman said the bruise to her eye occurred on April 14 when Oscar Licano had allegedly been upset that she was "not taking care of the kids." The couple reportedly drove to Las Cruces from their home in Columbus that night, where he allegedly beat her again after he accused her of locking him out of his truck at a motel.

He bit her and punched her multiple times on her arms and head, Adriana Licano told police. Oscar Licano allegedly continued to hit his wife in the car the next day on the road from Las Cruces to El Paso, and then to Carlsbad, when the couple arrived at the man's sister's house on the 400 block of South Mesa.

Adriana Licano reportedly told police that her husband had a history of drug abuse, and she attributed his violent behavior to the drugs, according to the police report.